PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: New Zealand will be determined to erase bitter memories of the Pallekele ground when they clash with Sri Lanka in a one-off Twenty20 international today.
The Black Caps’ campaign in the recent World T20 ended at the same venue when they lost all their three Super Eights matches, including two in the tie-break ‘super over’.
Ross Taylor’s team tied their games against eventual winners the West Indies and runners-up Sri Lanka before suffering defeats in the one-over eliminator.
New Zealand, who will also play five one-day internationals and two Tests on their month-long tour, return to the Pallekele stadium without key players Daniel Vettori and Martin Guptill.
Experienced left-arm spinner Vettori is missing the tour due to an injury while opener Guptill has been rested for the limited-overs contests and will figure only in the Tests. Sri Lanka also made a few changes as all-rounder Angelo Mathews was named the new T20 captain in place of Mahela Jayawardene, who stepped down after his team’s defeat against the West Indies in the World Twenty20 final.
New Zealand (from): Ross Taylor (capt), Trent Boult, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Ronnie Hira, Rob Nicol, Tom Latham, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Bradley-John Watling, Kane Williamson.
Sri Lanka (from): Angelo Mathews (capt), Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilshan Munaweera, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Shaminda Eranga, Akila Dananjaya, Sachithra Senanayake, Upul Tharanga. AFP
